246 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH NOVEL

political diatribes. The stiifo of Ca\aliei and Roundhead was
largely fought \\ ith such weapons, and at a later date they were
used by Whigs and Tories with deadly eflect Few of Earle's
conlempoiaiies \\vie as philosophic as he, or had insight enough to
discern the geneuil and permanent tjpe beneath the suiface traits
of the characters they depicted A pungent desciiption of current
actualities was the aim of Richard Brathwaite, in Ifhimzies; Or,
A new cast of Characters (1631) ; of Wye Saltonstall, in Picture
Loqnentes: ot Picture* dtmwie forth in Characters (1631); Of
Donald Lupton, in London and Country Carnonadoed and Quartred
into several! Characters (1632) ; as of many others not worth
mentioning here Brathwaite's chaincteis chiefly represent occu-
pations—an Almanac-maker, a Ballad-monger, an Exchange-man
an Hospital-man, a Jailer, a Launderer, an Ostler, a Postmaster,
and so on ; a few, such as his Corranto-comer, or state-newsmonger,
exhibit those lasting foibles noticed by Theophrastus and by writen
near our own day :

Paul's is his walk in winter, Moorfields in summer, where the
watte whole discipline, designs, projects, and exploits of the States,
Netherlands, Poland, Switzer, Crimchan and all, are within the
compass of one quadrangle talk most judiciously and punctually
discovered. . . . Thanks to his good invention, he can collect much
out of a very little ; no matter though more experienced judgments
disprove him, he is anonymous, and that will sccuie him. . . ,
Pahsadoes, parapets, counterscarps, forts, fortresses, rampiers, bul-
waiks, are his usual dialect. He writes as if he would do some
mischief, yet the charge of his shot is but paper. ... He evei
leaves some passages doubtful, as if they were some more intimate
secrecies of state, closing his sentence abruptly with—<( hereaftei
you shall hear more."

Saltonstall Saltonstall followed in the Overbury track, and had a pretty wi
of his own. He says of " The Term " :

It is called the term because it does end and terminate business
or else because it is the terminus ad quern., that is, the end of th<
countryman's journey, who comes up to the term, and with hi1
hobnail shoes grinds the faces of the poor stones, and so return1
again. It is the soul of the year, and makes it quick, which befor<
was dead. . . . The taverns are painted against the term, and man;